This invention relates to an improved protective shield and method of fastening a protective shield to a frame and more particularly to such a protective shield used with vehicles, such as automobiles and trucks.
Protective shields for motorcycles, automobiles, trucks, and other vehicles have been known in the art for some time. Examples of prior art deflector shields for automobiles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,846, U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,700, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,129.
A drawback to the protective shields known in the art is the absence of a durable method of mechanically fastening the shield, which is commonly made of translucent thermoplastic polymer, to the frame which is used to attach the protective shield to the vehicle. Prior deflector shields have been either mechanically fastened to the frame with bolts, rivets, screws, etc. or have been fastened to the frame with an adhesive. The bolts, rivets, screws, etc. of prior mechanical fastenings required apertures in the shield which weaken the shield and increase the probability of cracking or shattering of the shield. Also, bolts, rivets, screws, etc. tend to loosen under the mechanical vibrations and wind forces and pulsations presented by an automobile. Adhesive fastenings may fatigue or lose adhesive strength under long term use, under the extreme temperature ranges and weather conditions, or under the mechanical vibrations and wind forces presented with attachment to a motor vehicle. Also, the prior mechanical and adhesive fastenings require increased production cost because of the labor required to install the bolts, rivets, screws, chemicals, or adhesives and the costs of the mechanical fastenings and adhesives themselves.